


I Choose You (But I Didn't Have Much Choice in the Matter)

by GoldDRadium



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pokemon Fusion, Gen, More characters to come, Starting a Pokemon Journey, The Gents Are Too Old For This
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-06
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-05-19 03:14:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14865528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldDRadium/pseuds/GoldDRadium
Summary: The Lads and Gents are starting their Pokemon journey. What could possibly be in store for our (not so young) heroes?





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little something I've been having fun with. Enjoy!

Professor Coal thought the day was going particularly well for a Tuesday. The weather lent beautifully to field experiments, and the scientists were buzzing around the labs as a result of sunshine and a new coffee machine they managed to fit into the budget. The Pokemon were also in a good mood, and were eager to help the scientists with their studies. In retrospect, maybe the professor should have been wary about how well the day was going. 

A few hours into an experiment to find out why evolutionary stones affected some Pokémon, and not others, a commotion amongst the scientists drew Coal’s attention away from his computer monitor. Turning in his chair, he watched several scientists rush by his lab. 

“What’s going on?” He called to one of the scientists before she hurried past.

“Oh,” Her hair was falling out the tight bun she normally kept it in, and she brushed the stray strands away with the hand not occupied with a box full of pokéballs. “A group of first time trainers have just arrived.” Without any further explanation, she took off down the hall.

The professor nodded to himself. Of course, children were stopping by labs all the time in order to pick out a starter poké- “Wait,” He stood abruptly and shouted down the hall, “We don’t give out starter Pokémon!” The scientist was gone; however, and Professor Coal was left standing in an empty hallway. With a good idea of why the woman was carrying the box of pokéballs, he released a resigned sigh and made for the front lobby.

He could hear multiple voices before he was through the doors to the lobby, all of them raised and talking over one another. Entering unnoticed, he could not have prepared himself for what he saw. Standing in a loose semi-circle were six grown men, all of which were arguing over who was going to get which Pokémon; a pointless argument as they couldn’t know which Pokémon resided in the pokéballs. This didn’t seem to deter them, as they pointed at several different pokéballs, all of which looked the same, but seemed to have significant differences depending on which man you asked. 

Professor Coal cleared his throat, but only succeeded in getting the scientist’s attention. They looked to him with pleading eyes, and he couldn’t blame them. Their particular lab was strictly for research, and it was located in an area that wasn’t easily accessible to the public. As such, they never carried starter Pokémon, and never had new trainers requesting their starters from them.  


“We’re really going to give our Pokémon to them?” He asked one of the older scientists, making no effort to keep his voice down.  


The old man nodded dejectedly.  


“At least they’re enthusiastic?” Someone asked, earning half-hearted agreements.  


“Okay!” Coal shouted when it looked like things between the men might devolve into a fist fight. They quieted, looking at the professor with expressions ranging from annoyed to sheepish. 

“Aren’t the six of you a little old to be getting a Pokémon for the first time?”  


“Yes,” A heavily tattooed man said, looking pointedly at his companions.  


A young man with curly hair and glasses rolled his eyes. “Too bad you already agreed to this.”  


“And who wouldn’t want to go on an adventure with these lads?” An accented voice exclaimed, wrapping an arm around the two young men who appeared to be close to his age. All three ignored the two hands raised in response.  


A man with a beard that made Coal rub at his chin self-consciously spoke to the two older gentleman that had raised their hands, “Come on, I think this could be fun. It’s not like we have anything else to do.”  


“I have experiments to do.” The most unassuming said as he crossed his arms.  


Coal was about to ask what kind of experiments, but the curly-haired young man jumped back into the conversation, shouting, “Ryan, putting a Miltank in a hole does not count as an experiment!”  


The man, Ryan, just shrugged and made an unconvinced, ‘Meh.’  


“While this has all been very informative, can you pick your starter and get out of my lab?” Coal didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, he grabbed the box of pokéballs and began releasing the Pokémon. “Since you can’t seem to agree on who gets what, we’ll let the Pokémon decide.”  


“I want a Voltorb.”  


“Jeremy, do you see a Voltorb here?”  


The lad named Jeremy answered with a dejected, “No.”  


“The Pokémon you see here are all ones that require a stone to evolve, one way or another.” Coal explained while the ten or so Pokémon looked at the trainers curiously. An Oddish walked up to the accented young man, who released a squawking noise as it approached him.  


“You’re a cute little radish, aren’t you?” He squatted to get a closer look, but the motion scared the Oddish back toward the scientists. “Aw, never mind.”  


“Way to go, Gavin.”  


“Michael, I just wanted to be its friend.”  


“Why won’t this thing stop staring at me?”  


“Geoff, it wants to be your friend!” The British guy looked jealously between the tattooed man and the flying type Pokémon standing in front of him.  


“What is it?” Geoff asked, looking at the bird like it might attack at any minute.  


“Here,” Professor Coal tossed a hi-tech device at the man, who managed to hold onto it after fumbling it a couple times. “That’s a Pokédex. Just aim it at the Pokémon and it’ll give you all the information you need to know.”  


Geoff did as he was told, and the others gathered closer to hear what the electronic voice had to say, “Murkrow, the Darkness Pokémon. It is said that when chased, it lures its attacker onto dark mountain trails where the foe will get lost,” After the brief explanation, a list of stats appeared.  


“Bleedin’ heck, Geoff. Your Pokémon’s a badass.”  


“Of course he is,” Geoff praised, looking between the Pokémon and what the Pokédex said about him; level 5, male, and with the ability insomnia.  


“You have got to be kidding me!” The sudden shout startled everyone into turning toward the young man with blue hair, Jeremy. He scowled down at the little triangular Pokémon shivering in front of him, and twin bursts of laughter came from the other lads.  


“Shut up, it’s not funny!” He crouched so he was eye level with the Pokemon. “Are you, like, one-hundred percent sure you want me as your trainer?”  


“Jack, what’s so funny?” Ryan asked the bearded man, who shrugged. “Michael?” He directed to the curly-haired young man.  


“Dude, that’s a Snorunt,” He said between giggles.  


“Ah,” Ryan nodded, “Because Jeremy’s short.”  


“I think,” A scientist began while handing Jeremy a Pokédex, “She finds you the least threatening.”  


Looking dejected, he aimed the Pokédex at the Snorunt and listened to it tell him about his new Pokémon, “Snorunt, the Snow Hat Pokémon. It’s said that if they are seen at midnight, they’ll cause heavy snow. They eat snow and ice to survive.” A tugging at his pants leg drew his attention down.  


“Awe,” He cooed, “You are pretty cute.” He scooped the shivering Pokémon into his arms, and should not have been as surprised as he was to feel how cold she was.  


“Oh, my.”  


Professor Coal turned away from the young man struggling to keep hold of the nearly 40 pound Pokémon to see what the scientists were worried about. He immediately saw the cause for concern as he watched the curly-haired young man, Michael, holding the hilt of a Honedge.  


“Be careful with that Pokémon, son,” The old scientist warned. They had their hands stretched partially in front of them, as though they wanted to do something, but unsure of how to proceed.  


“Is that really a Pokémon?” Jack asked while peering closely at the Honedge in his hand.  


“No way,” Ryan disagreed. “It’s just a sword.”  


The professor sighed, grabbed a Pokédex, and pointed it at the sword.  


“Honedge, the Sword Pokémon,” The electronic voice informed. “If anyone dares to grab its hilt, it wraps a blue cloth around that person’s arm and drains that person’s life energy completely.”  


“Jeezus, Michael,” Gavin breathed.  


“And that’s why you should be careful,” The old scientist continued to sound wary.  


“Yeah, but, look,” Michael held up the Honedge. “He’s not wrapping his cloth around me, so that means I’m good!” He proceeded to swish the Pokémon before him as though it were an actual sword.  


“She,” Coal said while handing over the Pokédex so that he could see the Pokémon’s stats. “Your Honedge is female.”  


“How can a sword have a gender?” Ryan whispered to the older men, but they both shrugged in response. When no one had an answer for him, he broke away from the group to look at the various Pokémon wandering the lab. The Oddish continued to huddle by the scientists, and an Eevee perched itself at the receptionist’s desk. Under the desk, a Skitty played with the bundle of chords from the computers, and from the other side came a spray of dirt.  


Curious, he rounded the corner to see a striped butt with a fluffy tail sticking out of a large flower pot. The plant that had previously called the pot home lay sadly next to it.  


“What are you doing?” He asked, and the Pokémon stopped its digging to face Ryan. A dirty-faced Growlithe sat happily in the hole it had dug, tongue hanging out and tail swishing behind it. He reached a hand out and patted its head, and it barked in response.  


“Guys!” Gavin’s voice rang out loud in the room, and everyone turned to where he was pointing. “Rye-bread’s putting Pokémon in holes again!”  


“Am not!” He said, offended, and added quietly, “He put himself in that hole. Didn’t you?” He directed the last part to the Growlithe, who yipped in confirmation. “See?”  


“You’re still a creepy mother fucker.” Jeremy mumbled while Professor Coal handed Ryan his Pokédex.  


“Growlithe, the Puppy Pokémon,” The Pokédex began, earning a mixture of giggles and cooing noises from those present. “Extremely loyal, it will fearlessly bark at any opponent to protect its own Trainer from harm.”  


The Growlithe barked as if to prove the point, and then returned to digging.  


“Good dog,” Ryan praised.  


Professor Coal decided to ignore the mess-making Pokémon, instead turning to face the one they called Gavin, who had taken advantage of everyone’s distraction and procured himself a lab coat. He squinted, trying to get a better idea of why the young man was crouched in a corner of the room, muttering to himself.  


Knowing he was going to regret the answer, the Professor called over to him, “Is everything okay?”  


“Gav?” Michael asked, “Boi?”  


“It bloody,” Gavin made a few interesting noises before turning around to show them his problem, “It bloody won’t come off!”  


Hanging from his arm, where the coat sleeve rode up, was a Seedot. It hung happily, seeming to enjoy the motion of Gavin swinging his arm around in his attempts to dislodge it.  


“What the heck is that?” Geoff yelled while grabbing the Pokémon and pulling. His Murkrow sat on his head, calling out an encouraging, ‘Krow!’ every time he pulled.  


“It’s a Seedot, Geoff,” Jeremy informed from where he and his Snorunt stood a safe distance away.  


With a loud ‘POP,’ the Seedot detached from Gavin’s arm, and Geoff stumbled backwards at the sudden release. As Geoff flailed, trying to maintain his balance and hold onto the Pokémon simultaneously, Jack shouted, “Watch it!” and darted behind the man to scoop up a Pokémon in danger of being stepped on.  


“My arm,” Gavin whined. He inspected the vicious red mark left by the Seedot, not paying any mind to the Pokémon wriggling in Geoff’s grasp. The Seedot managed to free itself, falling to the ground with an excited, ‘See!’ and running to join Gavin at his side.  


“Holy dicks, dude,” Geoff breathed in relief. “I almost died.”  


“You didn’t almost die,” Michael scoffed.  


“If anyone almost died, it was this pink thing you nearly stepped on.” Jack held up the Pokémon, which trilled happily at the attention. It was pink and white, had a curl of hair sprouting from the top of its head, and, what appeared to be, an egg nestled in its little pouch. When no one moved, the little Pokémon wiggled until Jack set it on the floor. Pulling the egg from its pouch, it presented it to Jack.  


“Well, that settles it.” The Professor handed Gavin and Jack a Pokédex; the latter of the two holding the device and the egg – actually a rock – in separate hands, unsure of what was going on.  


Gavin aimed the Pokédex at the Seedot, saying, “Let’s see what you’re about, then.”  


“Seedot, the Acorn Pokémon. When it dangles from a tree branch, it looks just like an acorn. It enjoys scaring other Pokémon.”  


The trainer laughed, bending so he could poke the Seedot’s stem. “Cheeky little nut. I think we’ll get along brilliantly.” His statement caused the Pokémon to twirl in happiness.  


While Gavin prodded at his Pokémon, the older men gathered around Jack, who remained frozen with his eyes locked on the tiny Pokémon. In turn, the little Pokémon continued to gaze up at him expectantly.  


“Jack? You okay, buddy?” Geoff asked.  


“Maybe the rock is some sort of nefarious Pokémon attack,” Ryan suggested.  


Finally, Jack shook his head and looked between the two. “Why did the pink thing give me a rock?”  


“The pink thing is a Happiny,” Coal explained, hoping to speed things along and get the new trainers out of his lab. “And she gives the rock to those she likes.”  


“Sure, okay,” Jack acquiesced. “Uh, thank you,” He told her, and bent so he could hand the rock back to her. “Why don’t you hold onto this for me? I’m sure you’ll do a good job keeping it safe, right?”  


The Happiny nodded, reaching her little arms out to take the rock back. She carefully put it in her pouch, and patted the top of it once it was snuggled in safely.  


Standing back up, Jack pointed the Pokédex at her. “Now, let’s see what this thing has to say about you.”  


The familiar electronic voice said, “Happiny, the Playhouse Pokémon. It carefully carries a round, white rock that it thinks is an egg. It’s bothered by how curly its hair looks.”  


Ryan studied the Happiny while the Pokédex spoke, and when it finished declared, “My Pokémon could eat your Pokémon.”  


“What the hell, Ryan?” Jack moved to stand in front of the baby Pokemon, who peeked out from behind his ankle to watch the proceedings.  


“Look, I’m just saying, if pitted against one another in a battle to the death, my dog thing could definitely eat your egg thing.”  


Silence engulfed the lobby. From the crowd of scientists, someone did a terrible job of hiding their shock behind a cough. Not seeming to sense the mood, or perhaps because of it, Ryan’s Growlithe wandered over to pounce at the Happiny still shielded by Jack’s leg, growling and pawing at the little Pokemon.  


Undeterred, the Happiny left the safety Jack’s leg provided and ran toward the Growlithe. She opened her arms and attached herself to the Puppy Pokémon’s leg, looking up at him with wide eyes and a happily chirped, “’Piny!”  


Much to Ryan’s chagrin, his newly acquired Growlithe rolled onto his back, tail wagging while he continued to enjoy Happiny’s hug.  


“What just happened?” Geoff asked while Ryan tried to prod his Pokemon into retaliating.  


Behind the gents, where the lads stood with their Pokemon, Jeremy whispered, “Can Growlithe even learn Retaliate?”  


“Fuck if I know,” Michael responded off-hand.  


Feeling the situation getting out of hand, Professor Coal cleared his throat to gather everyone’s attention again.  


“I believe,” he said, addressing Geoff’s question, “Happiny used Charm. Now, as I mentioned before, these Pokemon all evolve through the use of a stone. I’m sure you’ll come across one that can be used during your journey through the Ahto region,” Coal explained as he headed for the entrance of the lab. “If you will kindly get out of my lab now, then we can all get on with our business.”


	2. Achieve List

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. I am awful at updating, and even worse at being productive with my free time. Updates will be sporadic, but I enjoy writing this too much to abandon it.

               They had to make a quick stop at Ryan’s house to free the Miltank from the hole. The man insisted the Pokemon would be fine; that the Alola region had proved that Pokemon were capable of changing types.

               “That took, like, thousands of years, Ryan,” Michael argued, leading the group along the winding path leading out of their small town. “And a fuck-ton of generations!” He continued, hands waving wildly. His Honedge hovered along beside him, moving effortlessly to avoid her trainer’s flailing.

               Ryan shrugged, saying, “I want to see if desperation triggers an abrupt evolution into an advantageous type.”

               “You’re such a psychopath,” Jack shook his head. “Why do we still hang out with you?”

               “Jack, you always make sure you’re friends with the psychopath,” Jeremy chimed in from the back.

               “True,” Ryan nodded. “I’ve grown fond of you, so when I do kill you, it will be quick and painless.”

               Used to Ryan’s casual threats, the group continued without comment. Growlithe ran in circles around the group, changing course occasionally to pounce playfully at another Pokemon. The only ones safe from the Puppy Pokémon’s antics were Snorunt, who was snuggled into Jeremy’s backpack with her head sticking out, and Murkrow, who had decided the top of Geoff’s head was the perfect spot for a bird’s eye view.

Happiny trotted along happily beside Jack, tripping whenever her curl drooped in front of her face. Gavin and his Seedot brought up the rear, and appeared to be playing a game of their own making. Gavin still wore the lab coat.

               “Okay,” Geoff began, calling everyone’s attention to himself. “Which one of you idiots has the Achieve List?”

               His question prompted a fervent search of various pockets. Gavin crouched on the ground and began pulling things from his backpack, stacking them on top of Seedot’s head. Seedot seemed pleased with the new game, and gleefully swayed from side to side to keep everything balanced.

               “Got it!” Jack exclaimed as he smoothed out a crumpled piece of paper he found at the bottom of his messenger bag. The group crowded around him, the lads elbowing each other to get a better view.

               The paper, with ‘To Achieve’ written in big letters across the top, outlined everything they wanted to accomplish during their journey. Six different types of handwriting cluttered the paper, turning the list into an amalgamation of half-spawned ideas.

               “We can check off ‘Get a Starter Pokemon,’” Geoff pulled a pen from his pocket and put a check mark next to the first item on the list. “Honestly, I didn’t think we’d make it this far.”

               “Right?” Ryan agreed. “Who in their right mind would think giving Pokemon to _us_ was a good idea?”

               “Aren’t people who work in Pokemon labs, like, morally obligated to give new trainers a Pokemon?”

               Jack looked to Jeremy and said, “I don’t think that’s how it works.”

               “Geoffrey,” Gavin pointed at a scribble in the corner of the page. “You can check that one off, too.”

               Geoff checked off Gavin’s messily scrawled ‘acquire a lab coat.’

               “Two down; not bad.” Ryan nodded approvingly. “What’s next?”

               Michael pumped his fist and grabbed ahold of Honedge’s hilt, swinging the sword Pokémon so she pointed dramatically into the distance. “Now, we fight some bitches.”

               “Shouldn’t we try to figure out where we’re going, first?” Jack pointed out. The group currently stood in the middle of a path that split into a few different directions a little further ahead.

               “We’ve got options,” Geoff tapped his pen thoughtfully against his cheek. “The lads want to fight the Gym leaders, so we could go northwest of here and hit up the first Gym.”

               “But what’s in it for us?” Ryan prompted.

               “I don’t really care where we go,” Jack said. “I just want to see some new places and meet some Pokemon. What city is the Gym in?”

               “Saint’s City,” Geoff answered. “I’m sure you could find something there worth your time, Ryan.”

               As the gents discussed the merits of heading toward Saint’s City, the lads had meandered further ahead, and stopped when Michael brandished his Honedge at them.

               “Fight me, bitches,” he declared.

               Jeremy glanced at Gavin, trying to figure out how easily it would be to convince the Brit to fight Michael even though he was at a type disadvantage. His Pokédex said Honedge knew Fury Cutter, and Snorunt’s only damaging move was Ice type.  

               Neither of them would win against Michael and Honedge.

               Just as he was about to shove Gavin forward in sacrifice, Jeremy saw a figure in the distance. He wore jeans and a red hoodie, had a beard and shaggy hair with a streak of color through it, and looked a little homeless.

               Jeremy didn’t care who he was, or what his circumstances were. All he cared about was avoiding getting his ass handed to him by Michael.

               “Why don’t you fight that guy?” Jeremy pointed in the stranger’s direction, and Michael’s focus immediately shifted. A manic grin took over his face, and a quickly muttered, ‘Excellent,’ is all the warning they got before he took off toward the man.

               The gents joined the remaining two lads just as Michael reached the other trainer, greeting him with a friendly, “Hey, Fuckface! Battle me!”

               “Who’s that?” Jack asked as they made their way closer.

               “Don’t know,” Jeremy answered, “But I almost feel sorry for him.”

               They were near enough that they could hear the conversation, listening as the man asked where Michael had caught a Honedge.

               “She’s my starter, dipshit,” Was Michael’s eloquent response, and he continued before the stranger could continue asking anymore stupid questions, “Now, are we going to fight, or what?”

               The man shrugged, “Ok, sure.”

               Everyone backed up behind Michael as he took position and allowed Honedge to hover in front of him.

               “I’m Matt, by the way,” the stranger introduced as he chose one of the two Pokéballs at his waist.

               “Michael. Prepare to get fucked.”

               Laughing at Michael’s introduction, Matt lazily tossed the Pokéball into the air. Out of the red light materialized a fish. It’s orange scales glinted in the sunlight as it flopped around in the dirt.

               “Are you fucking kidding me?” Jeremy asked as they watched the Magikarp flail.

               “Aren’t those things basically useless?” Geoff asked, aware enough of Pokemon to have heard of Magikarp.

               “Pretty much,” Ryan confirmed.

               “Whatever,” Michael shrugged off the disappointment of fighting a Magikarp. “Even if it is pathetic, a battle’s a battle.”

               “Excuse you!” Matt looked offended on his Magikarp’s behalf. “This is The King of Karp!”

               Jeremy could _hear_ the capitalization, and they all continued to stare dubiously at the fish.

               “Still don’t care,” Michael pointed at his Pokemon, “Honedge, use Swords Dance.”

               Honedge quickly complied. She unsheathed herself and performed a pirouette in the air. The edge of her blade glowed hot, and she hovered at the ready with her sheath held tightly in her blue cloth.

               Jeremy nodded in approval. “Magikarp isn’t going to be able to touch him, so it’s a free turn to set up.”

               “Plus two attack,” Gavin clarified for the gents.

               “All right, King of Karp, use Splash!” Magikarp stopped its flopping for a moment. Then, it launched itself into the air, going about twenty feet before landing right where it started. A few seconds later, it resumed its flopping. “Good job!” Matt praised.

               “All right, this is a little stupid,” Michael muttered. “Honedge, Fury Cutter!”

               Eye narrowed in concentration, Honedge performed a single slash across the Magikarp. The opponent Pokemon gave one final flop before fainting.

               Matt crouched down next to the fainted fish and patted him on the head. “Good job. You’re getting there.” Returning the Pokemon to its Pokéball, he exchanged it with the second Pokéball at his waist. “Your turn, Kippers!”

               “Now we’re talking,” Michael crowed, hitting his right fist against the palm of his left hand. “Ready, Honedge?”

               Honedge responded with an echoed, metallic trill, accompanied by an energetic twirl in the air.

               “Kippers, use Water Gun!”

               “That shouldn’t do too much damage,” Ryan commented as they watched the battle. Honedge was far nimbler than he thought a sword could be.

               The two Pokemon went back and forth for a bit, dodging and trading blows in turn. Unfortunately for Mudkip, Honedge’s raised attack stat, combined with Fury Cutter’s increasing power, left it at a distinct disadvantage.

               Too tired to dodge any longer, a final hit from Honedge left Mudkip unable to battle.

               “All right, Honedge!” Michael’s shout drew Honedge over to him, and he grabbed her hilt to point her at Matt in a victory pose. “Not bad, dude.”

               “Same to you,” Matt agreed while calling his Mudkip back into its Pokéball. “I’d offer to battle the rest of you, but I can’t revive my team.”

               “It’s fine,” Geoff waved him off. “We’ll get our asses handed to us by other trainers, no worries.”

               “You’re Matt, right?” Jack asked while extending a hand toward him, ever the polite one. “I’m Jack, and this is Happiny. Thank you for indulging Michael.” Looking between Jack and the stranger, Happiny settled on sticking her hand out, as well.

               “Nah, it’s no problem, really,” Matt returned Jack’s handshake, and bent down to offer Happiny his index finger. She shook it happily, and then Matt was introduced to the rest of the group.

               “Are you heading toward Saint’s City?” Jeremy asked.

               “Yeah, actually. I just started my journey a couple weeks ago, and have just sort of been wandering aimlessly. But I think Kippers is getting restless, and King of Karp is going to take a lot of work to train, so I decided a Gym would be a good place to go.”

               “Brilliant!” Gavin popped up from behind Matt, startling both him and Jeremy. “You can travel there with us, then!” With that decided, Gavin toddled off with his Seedot keeping pace beside him.

               “Do I get a say in this?” Matt asked, wondering just who he had gotten himself involved with.

               “Not really, no,” Jeremy answered with a friendly clap on the shoulder.

              

              

              

                

              

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Michael really likes pointing his Honedge at people. Honedge secretly loves it.


End file.
